Mara Des Bois Strawberry

I've purchased for myself Mara Des Bois Strawberry plants. It's considered a newer strawberry plant, which was developed in France back in the early 1990s and has been made available to the American market in the last few years. I won't go on about the history of this plant because many other blogs have done a wonderful job discussing strawberries and the development of the Mara Des Bois strawberry (see this website for a good read: http://notdabblinginnormal.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/the-strawberry-dance/).

I will, however, let you know that I've established a raised bed for the strawberries and planted the strawberry plants over the weekend. I also read that I will get and should allow the strawberry plants to produce fruit this summer, even though it's the plants first year. To say the least, I'm excited.

So what happened to my other strawberry plants? Well, when moving, I had potted up a lot of the plants. I intended to bring these strawberry plants with me, but I had second thoughts. See, the strawberry plants were given to me from an intern and I didn't know the variety. I believe he may have purchased the plants from a big box store. All I know about the plant is based upon my observations. I believe that it is a June-bearing plant, meaning that it only produced fruit during a 2-3 week period, sometime in June. The strawberries were medium-sized, sweet (what organically homegrown fruit wouldn't be sweet), but I found them to be a bit watery. The plants itself put out a lot of runners, which I found a hassle to keep under control. Overall, I know I could've saved money and kept these strawberry plants, but in the end I believed that I could and should find a better strawberry plant to suit my needs. Thus, I did not bring these strawberry plants with me to my new home.

See, I wanted a strawberry plant that would produce strawberries throughout the summer (known as everbearing strawberries). I also wanted strawberries that would taste like strawberries and not be so watery. At the same time, I didn't have a lot of time to be keeping up several strawberry patches. At my old house, I only had one small patch and it took a lot of energy to keep it weeded, watered, and healthy. It didn't help that my mate at the time (who did not help with the weeding and watering) was too lazy to go and pick the strawberries (even for his own consumption). In addition to the strawberries, I also have other fruits, plants, vegetables, that may also need my attention. Thus, due to time constraints, I am limited to one strawberry patch and I decided that the strawberry I will grow has got to come close to what I want.

This spring, I finally started work on parts of my yard, including my strawberry patch, and came across the Mara Des Bois strawberry in an internet search. It's my understanding that the fruit is very tender and is too perishable for shipping (hey, I don't intend to transport these strawberries anywhere), but definately packs a punch with its strawberry taste. I'll let you know (I hope) how well the strawberry actually lives up to the hype when I get the first strawberry of the summer.

Skeeter Syndrome

I was bit today by three mosquitoes while using my weed-wacker to get rid of weeds. Unfortunately, I had a bad allergic reaction to one of the bites, which is on my right hand. Can you see the HUGE, red bump that has formed on my hand, right underneath my index and middle finger? This has happened before in the past and I've never seen a doctor about it, but in doing my own research, I think I may have a condition known as Skeeter Syndrome. You can read more about it at the following website: http://allergies.about.com/od/insectallergies/a/mosquitoallergy.htm.

I think it depends on the type of mosquito that bites me, but many bites I've received in the past (and the one today) have resulted in my skin swelling and turning red around the bite area. Several bites have not only left my skin swollen and red, but the swelling would grow beyond the bite mark, with the skin getting hot, taut, and feverish. On those occasions, I would use ice cubes to cool down my skin. I don't think the bite is even itchy because the skin is so hot, taut, and a little painful when touched.

I hope I didn't gross you out. At least my mosquito bite isn't itchy, hasn't swollen to encompass the rest of my hand, and it isn't hot when touched.

Gardening To My Heart's Delight

Today is such a beautiful day. The sun came out, there is a slight breeze, and no mosquitoes (yet). I'm currently sitting on my deck and just enjoying the view.

This morning, I got up early and started planting rows of hostas around my home and in the shadier spots. A co-worker needed to thin out her hosta beds so she offered me her plants, so long as I was willing to dig it out. Of course, I wasn't going to say no to free hostas. So yesterday after work, in the rain, I went to her house and dug up lots of hosts. Sad to say, I didn't have enough containers and I took as many as I could, but she still had LOTS of hostas that needed to be thinned out and to be removed.

This morning, I also started my vegetable garden. I originally was going to establish my garden on the southeastern side of my yard, but changed my mind when I saw that the site didn't get enough sun (due to the trees on that side of the yard). So, I've opted for the southwestern side of my yard and hopefully that site will receive at least five hours of sunlight. I've been trying to keep track of the sunlight that my yard gets. Anywhoo, I've already planted four potato buds (two red potatoes, two russett). I just purchased A LOT of tomato plants and hot pepper plants (my little seedlings that I started didn't do well) and will plant them late in the afternoon. I find that the best time to transplant plants is early in the morning or in the late afternoon. This way, the heat from the sun doesn't further distress the plant because the plant is already going through its own shock from the transplant.

I also need to plant my strawberry plants too. Hopefully, my strawberry plants are still alive. I hope to write more about this. Hopefully, I'll keep you updated.

Yummy Stinging Nettle

Yep, you read it correctly. Stinging nettle is yummy. And it doesn't sting when cooked.

You see, since trading houses, I have a lot more land to take care of while also finding various plants on my land. I was aware of the stinging nettle growing on my property and I didn't want to eradicate it. As many of you are aware, the plant stings. The sting will last several minutes, but I find it to be quite painful. I didn't want to eradicate the plant because I read that it was a favorite to beneficial insects (e.g. certain butterflies).

Also, last summer, I came across several websites and blogs stating that stinging nettle is edible. Since stumbling on these websites and blogs, I've been wanting to try stinging nettle as a dish. It was only today that I got the nerve to give it a try. I collected some nettle (use gloves to avoid the sting), rinsed and took off the leaves off from the stem, and blanched the leaves in hot water. I then pan fried the blanched leaves in olive oil. I ate it with rice and hot pepper. It was yummy. It really reminded me of the vegetables that my mom cooked for us to eat when I was living with her. In particular, it reminded me of pan fried pumpkin leaves (my siblings know exactly what I'm talking about). Apparently, cooked nettle has a lot of vitamins and nutrients (see thttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle). I'm just excited that I have a lot of "free" food in my yard, ready for the picking.

I would recommend that you try some if any is made available to you. Of course, I would recommend that you find out what kind of environment your nettle grew in before you consume it. For example, I think I'm the only person on my street that doesn't spray insecticide or pesticide on my grass, in my yard, or near my property. The stinging nettle grows "wild" on my property, so I think it's pretty safe to eat. Anyhow, if you're ever in my neck of the woods and want to try stinging nettle, just come and visit me.

Rain is Better Than Snow, Right?

It has been a very rainy weekend and I've only been able to put in a little amount of time into my gardening. Yesterday I went to numerous garden centers to purchase plants and mulch. There were so many plants that I wish I was able to buy, but I don't have enough space that has a lot of sunlight.

Today, I purchased more mulch and several tools to do yardwork. Can you believe that I am a proud owner of a chainsaw and a weed-wacker? Well, I am. Despite the rain, I was able to weed a patch of my garden (in the rain) and spread a bit of mulch over that area. I have a tree that needs to be planted, but more on that later. I've since gotten out of the rain so hopefully that tree will last one more day in the box. It's also supposed to rain tomorrow too, so I'll see if I can go ahead and plant that tree in the rain tomorrow after work. I hope to write a post on my new tree.

The Calm Before the Storm

[Taken on May 10, 2011 in Cambridge, MN,
right before severe thunderstorms struck and tornado warnings were issued.]

Photography (AGAIN)

When it comes to photography, I'm only a hobbyist and nothing more. I love taking pictures, but I just don't make enough time for it. As of late, I haven't been taking enough pictures with my old dSLR (digital single lens) camera. Earlier this year (in January to be more specific) I took my camera home, shot some awesome photos of my family, but then all of my pictures became corroded. After reading several articles on the internet, in trying to narrow down what caused the corrosion, it appears that my camera may be the cause of it or it may just be the memory card. To make the long story short, if it's my camera, then I have to get a new camera. If it's just the memory card, then I need to only buy new memory cards.

I recently purchased a new memory card, so I will test it out today. Lets hope that it's the memory card and not the camera. Also, the pictures I've been posting as of late were taken with my phone camera. The pictures' quality aren't too bad, but definately leaves a lot to be desired. Anyhow, I hope to be posting some more pictures.

Embracing My Femininity

Those who know me really well, already know that I'm pretty laid back and have a blase attitude about my appearance. I love being all natural and not wearing any make up or perfume. I love having a simple enough haircut that doesn't require me to blow dry and style it all the time. In other words, I love having "wash and go" hair. I love to wear jeans, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. I love clogs, sneakers, and sandals. I didn't own any stilettos for most of my life and I really didn't own a dress, just for the sake of owning a dress (there had to be an occasion for me to purchase the dress in the first place).

Yet, recently a friend and I have decided that we were going to embrace our femininity. I know there's a whole debate in the academic world, specifically women studies, as to what constitutes femininity. Putting that aside, I will say that for myself, I have defined "embracing my femininity" as embracing methods, habits, and ways that most mainstream women share. For example, I am learning to put on my own make-up. Considering my age, many tweens and teens are experts compared to me because I do not know how to put on eyeshadow or even pick out a proper liquid foundation (that's why I've chosen to use mineral make-up as my foundation). I was also told recently that I needed to learn to walk in stiletto heels (which is probably true). Anyhow, these are just some examples. I won't bore you anymore, but I am going to try my best.